


Fifth Time Around (Prequel)

by KazueEmiko



Series: One Last Chance [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Divine Pulse, F/F, F/M, Mental Breakdown, Mental Instability, Post-Time Skip, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Prequel, Spoilers, mainly edeleth fiction, not much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-21
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-02-18 08:01:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21507811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazueEmiko/pseuds/KazueEmiko
Summary: The Divine Pulse is a powerful ability granted by Sothis to turn back the hands of time. However, with each cycle, Byleth is one step closer to being by Edelgard's side. Upon receiving her happy ending, what happens if Byleth decides to strive for the impossible with another Divine Pulse?*This is a prequel to the upcoming Final Fantasy Type-0 x Fire Emblem: Three Houses crossover series. However, it can act as a standalone Edeleth OS.
Relationships: Claude von Regan/My Unit | Byleth, Claude von Riegan/My Unit | Byleth, Dorothea Arnault/My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth, Mercedes von Martritz/My Unit | Byleth
Series: One Last Chance [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1550260
Kudos: 17





	Fifth Time Around (Prequel)

**Author's Note:**

> This is more for my own guilty pleasure and making my own food since no one seems to be writing about this crossover. I decided that a prequel should be in place in order to set the mood and circumstances for the series. However, this OS can act as a standalone Edeleth fiction, so one can read it without any need to read the series. I had fun writing this! Kind of makes you wonder if there's ever going to be a revelation route for this... but at the same time, makes you not want it. Hope you enjoy it! I enjoyed writing it. :)

It has been exactly five months since she had been a professor at Garreg Mach Monastery. It has been exactly one day since her departure from Garreg Mach Monastery. It has been exactly five hours since her encounter with the Knights of Seiros and Adrestian Empire’s troops. It has been exactly three hours since she lost Jeralt in the clash. It has been exactly one hour since she last saw Edelgard von Hresvelg.

A shudder ran down Byleth’s spine, the seated professor pressing the Sword of Creator close to her chest. Byleth, Sothis, and a few surviving members of Jeralt’s battalions currently hid out under a stony shelter, the thunders roaring ferociously in conjunction with the pouring rain late into the night. They were fatigued and sustained numerous injuries. (Were it not for the lone healer in their group, they would have all succumbed to their wounds by now.) Byleth wearily stared at the man-made fire as her remaining comrades slept against the wall; the shadows continuously danced amongst the rocky terrains of the ground with each flickering of the flames. Byleth struggled to stifle her yawn.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Byleth glanced at the nearby floating girl. Sothis, the all-powerful and all-knowing goddess, had features riddled with concern. When Byleth shook her head, Sothis loudly exhaled.

“It’s unfortunate that the war has begun much earlier than expected,” Sothis murmured with arms crossed, her gaze now elsewhere. “As expected of that child.”

“…Could I have been the cause of it all?”

“Perhaps.”

“…”

It crushed her. This fifth cycle amounted to nothing more than tremendous agony and unwarranted heartaches.

The first time, she sided with Dimitri because of his beliefs.

Byleth liked him. He was a young man for a brighter future. Dimitri was always so gentle with his comrades. He was always a people's person. The way he carried himself drew Byleth towards him. However, his true nature would leak out on occasion, his startling dark demeanors overwhelming the instructor. When Edelgard initiated the war, the Faerghus prince bellowed out as if he were a beast. His words coated with poison and burning lust to tear Edelgard’s head off her shoulders… Had it not been for Byleth’s presence, he would have spiraled into nothing more than a man seeking vengeance for everything that went wrong in his life.

“I grow weak when I face you…”

Edelgard’s final words struck something deep within her chest. It didn't help that Edelgard intentionally lowered her guard and held back on her strikes. That nearly caused Byleth to falter in her final attack as she, Dimitri, and the Blue Lions watched the vermillion lord fall. Surprising how a single sentence, a timid, almost quiet remark would be so powerful.

At that time, Byleth did not understand what Edelgard meant to say. Or rather, she chose not to understand what Edelgard meant to say.

The deadlocked war finally settled to a conclusion. Members from the Kingdom of Faerghus all cheered for their well-deserved victory. As for their professor, Byleth did not wish to continue her service under Dimitri’s ruling. It was time she earned her rest as well.

She proposed to Mercedes. It was her first love and the older female graciously accepted the proposal. They retired to the outskirts of the Kingdom of Faerghus. Mercedes would volunteer and run a charity organization for the orphanages throughout Fodlan. Byleth would tend to their farm and place food on the table. A simple life many yearned for. The two remained married until Mercedes died from old age.

As Byleth merged her soul with Sothis, her god-like longevity eventually outlasted all her comrades. The world moved forward and she is by herself. Seteth, Flayn, and Rhea would occasionally visit her, but not for long. They too would pass on from this world. And at that very moment, she found herself staring at the nameless, worn tombstone where Edelgard von Hresvelg laid to rest.

“…”

Byleth soon laid down next to the buried emperor. Could it be because she's lonely all these past decades that she decided to visit an old enemy? But why this enemy? Why this particular person and not someone like Claude? A melodic tune that's closely related to the little vermillion princess’s voice softly hummed in the air. It lulled the retired instructor into a deep slumber and encouraged her to be enveloped in the warmth of the song. If only Byleth could turn back time… If only she could ask Edelgard what she meant by those uttered last words…

Byleth closed her eyelids, sleeping by Mercedes and Edelgard, and never awakened.

Yet it appears the Divine Pulse worked in her favor. When she cracked opened her eyes, she found herself staring at Jeralt. Originally, Byleth expected to be finally sent up to the heavens. After prolonged periods of life on earth, the ex-mercenary yearned for nothing more than eternal slumber.

“Let’s go, kid.”

Turns out, Byleth’s physical appearance not only reverted back to its original state, but the female also stared in horror as the entire day began to slowly unfold itself in a predictable manner. Every interaction, every movement, every reaction… It was as if she turned back the hands of time!

“Did I surprise you?” Sothis later appeared. She bopped the mercenary on the forehead and smiled. “I’ve given you another chance to deal with those regrets.”

The Divine Pulse is a wonderful ability. Byleth was sure she would not waste this opportunity. 

The second time, she sided with Claude because of his plans.

She respected him. Claude’s endeavors, track record, and perky attitude colored him in a brighter light compared to the Blue Lions’s House Leader. Yet his carefree personality hid a rather sly version of himself. The young man was not as foolish as he appears to be. Questions that were meant to be answered finally unveiled themselves that surrounds Those Who Slither in the Dark and the Church of Seiros. Byleth was also one step closer to figuring out Edelgard’s feelings and opinions towards the now-Golden Deer’s professor.

Unfortunately, Byleth found herself fighting not just against Edelgard again, but against Dimitri too. The three nations that once stood in the practice field for a friendly tournament five years ago now fight for survival and bloody victory. Weapons were tossed and exchanged. Blows landed and missed. The number of casualties steadily rising to unfathomable degrees. Byleth tearfully steeled herself when she faced members of the Blue Lions. Many of them mourned and expressed grief when she tore them apart, the tears running down her face as she impaled her Sword of Creator into Dimitri’s chest plate.

“Professor… why…?”

Those were the last words from the person that she ringed in her past life. Byleth wailed into the ironic sunny day with Mercedes in her arms. Endless tears spilled forth from the professor as the crimson gash that penetrated the holy maiden’s chest continued to flow with magma fluid. She had struck down students from the previous cycle with little hesitation due to a lack of familiarity. Yet when it came to the Blue Lions, she did so with a heavy heart. Byleth leaned forward and buried her face into the soiled woman’s shoulder, her weeping almost never-ending. It devastated her to murder the one that she once called her wife.

Claude had to pull her back to reality with a slap on the shoulder. The young man knew the heavy burden that rests on her shoulders as it did for everyone in the Leicester Alliance. However, it would be unfair if she were the only person left behind. Everyone had no choice but to recover. With that in mind, Byleth eventually recuperated and regained her strength to move onward.

“I wanted to walk by your side…”

Those words were different from when she was with Dimitri, but those words still haunted her. The two had finally faced one-on-one with each other and Byleth was the clear victor. But Edelgard had begged for her to be slain by Byleth. If anything, she wants Byleth to be the only person to kill her, and so she delivered.

Blood slowly trickled from the Sword of Creator’s tip as the professor stared at the fallen emperor. Then, Byleth grit her teeth.

Why did Edelgard have to say this? She still couldn’t understand what she had meant by those words. If Edelgard wanted to walk by her side, why can’t Edelgard just drop everything and join her and Claude’s vision for a better future? Or is Byleth simply deluding herself again and wished to look away from the damages she had done?

“…”

After the war had ended, Byleth found herself married to Claude, though this was more of a political move in order to maintain peace and balance between Fodlan and Almyra. They’ve never had any children and simply passed the royal title of Almyra to the next heir. For Byleth, she continued to act as an important figurehead for Fodlan well after the natural death of Claude and her comrades.

She eventually finds herself looking at the same nameless tombstone again. Here lies the young girl who wishes to be by her side and someone she had to kill once again. Byleth brushed her fingertips on the stony exterior as her eyelids closed once more. This lifetime came to a standstill with the passing of the Enlightened One from Fodlan, her funeral held for countless days.

Yet once more, Sothis turned back the hands of time. "You still have your regrets, don't you?" 

The third time, she sided with Rhea because of circumstances.

This was more so out of anger and frustration from Byleth. The instructor, usually so composed and collected, flew into a fury when she realized the dangers Edelgard had posed against the Church of Seiros. Having to choose between the two women, Byleth bore the blunt end of the former Black Eagle’s House Leader attack, her arms shielding the holy maiden from further harm. Disappointment and sadness colored the white-haired’s features. She looked away, retracted her axe, and bit the bottom of her lip. Dorothea had come up to cast a healing spell on the professor as Byleth trucked through the pain. 

Byleth taught the Black Eagles and she finally spent time with Edelgard. Why would Edelgard do this?! She stepped forward and sternly demanded answers from Edelgard. Couldn’t there have been another way to resolve the growing tension between the church and her?

The recently-ascended emperor chose to say nothing. Instead, Hubert and Edelgard forcefully retreated from the premise via teleportation, their silence the only answer provided at the time. That was the last she had seen the pair. After all, it wasn’t long until the neon-haired woman fell into another five-year coma once again.

Deep in her unconscious thoughts, Byleth frequently repeated the same question over and over: Why did she protect Rhea, but not Edelgard? Byleth would not be able to get an answer out of herself any time soon… and she would never as she found herself repeating the same course of action as the second time around.

“I wish we could be something more…”

They were out of breath, lacerations of varying depths scattered among their exposed skin, and their gaze ever so penetrating. Edelgard could barely raise her head, her hands using the Levin Sword as support for her weakened figure. Byleth’s relic trembled when she raised the weapon high above her head. Though she was grateful not to have met with Claude nor Mercedes in this route, the pent-up emotions that swirled and muddled together exploded in a single outcry, the blade flying down with startling power.

When the serrated edges came to contact with the emperor’s head, a sorrowful smile crawled on the lord’s lips. The instant Edelgard collapsed, so did Byleth, the tears dripping onto the dirtied pavement. That obliterated the dam that Byleth desperately tried patching up. She clawed at the ground and pounded the rough terrain until her fists were bruised and bloodied.

Why…?

Why?

Why?!

WHY?!

JUST WHY?!

WHY DID SHE HAVE TO DIE AGAIN?!

“EL!!!”

Had it not been for Dorothea, she would have committed suicide on the spot, the opera singer pulling her back to reality. If anything, Byleth finally realized why Edelgard had uttered those tragic last words, and she regrets learning about it. New regrets had bloomed in place of old ones.

Byleth’s internal struggle continued to grow and it became even worse for her psyche. The truth of Byleth’s birth and her origin nearly spiraled her sanity out of control. Once again, had it not been for Dorothea, Byleth would have offed herself. It was almost laughable that every single cycle she went through, she was subjecting herself to a new form of torture. New knowledge meant new forms of pain. Just how much more can she take?

After the war and slain of the Immaculate One, the professor desperately married Dorothea, their love burning for lust and relief from the war with their severe PTSD. Their relationship had become parasitic in hopes of tending to each other’s scars and unhealed wounds. It took another five years for them to stabilize their attitudes and, finally, fell in love beyond physical euphoria.

“…”

Unlike the previous times, to which she lived for hundreds to thousands of years, the neon-haired woman laid in her sickbed. Not even 20 years ticked by and Dorothea is forced to watch her passionate wife succumb to a mysterious illness. Delirious fevers plagued the few unlucky ones in the remote village from the Adrestian Empire and Byleth had caught it. No treatments were available to cure her of the disease. She was bound to die in a sickly manner. Dorothea stayed by her side up until the time of her passing, her songs lulling the weak warrior into another slumber.

“Fourth’s time the charm, Byleth. Don’t mess this up.”

Sothis was right. The fourth’s time the charm. Byleth’s fingertips dug into the palms of her hands as she greeted Jeralt once more upon reawakening.

The fourth time, she sided with Edelgard because of love.

Finally… finally! It was the cycle that Byleth had dreamed of achieving and ridding of the original regrets that gnawed at her when she was with Dimitri. She stuck by Edelgard’s side like glue from beginning to end since the first time they’ve met. When it came to choosing between the two women again, the professor did not hesitate to choose the young house leader. Edelgard was colored with shock, but Byleth wasn’t. Instead, she immediately greeted the student with plenty of support for her endeavors. Of course, this infuriated Rhea, driving her into the corner and lashing out at the two in future events. 

The battles were harsh and Byleth struggled to kill those that had once been her students. Dimitri’s battle cries and lamentations drained her of energy alongside Mercedes inevitable death and Claude’s banishment replayed in her head over and over again. At least Edelgard had always remained by her side during those difficult moments. The young vermillion emperor would hug Byleth as the instructor crumpled into a messy heap. Soothing messages empowered the ex-mercenary for one more day. It was for their future and Byleth fought hard for their future. They were going to make it. This was especially prominent when they fought the Immaculate One and defeated her.

When Byleth died, Sothis departed from her body and provided enough life force to revive the originally-still born woman. Byleth was immediately greeted with a kiss from Edelgard once she had awakened from the temporary loss, the professor’s eyes glistened with a range of emotions. It turns out that she has finally found her happily ever after.

“I’ve originally thought that I would walk on this road on my own, but then you came into my life.” Edelgard extended her hand outward. She took her professor’s hand and brightened her features. “Now, we can walk together. I love you… Byleth.”

Their marriage came to fruition after they wiped off Those Who Slither in the Dark and war criminals with some help from their comrades. Progenitor God no more, both females had adopted a daughter child, and peacefully died in each other’s embrace from old age.

Warmth had embraced them into the heavens. Their hearts were always connected with one another and they would always be together.

Yet there was a tug. Byleth felt torn apart from the comfort of her third wife and spiraled into the darkness once again.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Byleth nodded, her navy hues weary from the anguish she bore through. No amount of weight in the world would be able to appropriately describe the impact the four previous cycles would have on Byleth. It was all to achieve the ending she desired with Edelgard von Hresvelg.

But what about those that she had loved previously?

What about Mercedes, her first wife? The one she first fell in love?

Or what about Claude, her first husband? The one she and he worked so hard to maintain peace and a steady relationship between Almyra and Fodlan?

How about Dorothea, her second wife? The Dorothea from the time she sided with Rhea was distraught from an early loss of her lover?

Then, there are her old comrades. The students that she had taught, the allies she had made, the friends she had met in all four factions… Isn’t it possible for everyone to achieve their happily ever after? Is it possible to save them all from their impending doom?

“I can’t promise you that it will end well. Are you willing to give up your current happiness and peace for a near-impossible fate?” Sothis grimaced when the young woman agreed to one last cycle. The female reached out to touch Byleth’s chest. She lowered her head and muttered, “This is going to be a cycle that will change everything.”

And so, it did change.

Thunder continued to boom in the background. Byleth was startled awake from her nap, her head raised. She rubbed one bagged eye and managed to hold back a profound yawn. Just as she had awakened, so did Sothis. The green-haired readjusted her posture mid-air and stared at her host.

“Is this all a mistake?” The hoarse voice that crackled out of Byleth was out of character. Tonality that would’ve brimmed with confidence and brevity was reduced to uncertainty and anxiety. When Sothis remained silent, she added, “I’ve thought removing myself from the monastery would’ve worked. I thought… I thought I could come back and encourage everyone to openly communicate their problems.”

The mercenary felt her foot twitch as she shifted the weight of her arm onto the relic. “I’m a fool. Even dad died.” Byleth unconsciously smirked. “What’s to say about my other students? They ended up fighting each other in the end, blind to the very end.”

Gruesome blood splattered the field, every flick of a weapon having produced the grimy substance onto the greeneries. Returning in hopes of achieving an almost impossible reality did become impossible. The dream of a happier and more gleeful ending is nothing more than a fleeting wish. Persistence may be the key to success as Sothis was more than available to use the Divine Pulse a number of times for her host. Byleth is free to abuse the power with the guidance of the goddess. Yet the previous four cycles had done a number on the woman.

Sothis recalled the worrisome nature of Byleth when they began the new academic term. She had naturally chosen the Black Eagles House in order to revitalize and restart her relationship with Edelgard. Unfortunately, past red strings of fate wind around her pinkie with three other students, causing the professor to relapse into a potential romantic relationship with Mercedes, Claude, and Dorothea. It was not surprising to see Edelgard, Mercedes, Claude, and Dorothea’s relationship with Byleth become estranged thanks to past commitments.

There were also the nightmares that had plagued the instructor. Post-traumatic stress disorder had gotten severe enough to strangle Byleth into submission almost every night. She would desperately cling to her pillow and violently shiver underneath her blanket. Incoherent mumbles blubber out of her mouth as if she were possessed by the ghost of her past. If it weren’t for Sothis soothing the ex-mercenary, the teal-haired would never be able to retain her sanity.

The goddess watched her host immediately jump to her feet. Sword of Creator readied, Byleth glanced out of the shelter and into the dark, wet field. Two of the five mercenaries stirred from their sleep. When they spotted their leader in an offensive posture, they scrambled and posed similarly to her. Byleth’s knuckles whitened as she dryly swallowed.

“I have no choice but to see this through.”

She raised the now-brightened ancient blade at the approaching enemies. When she took a step forward, an arrow suddenly slammed into her shoulder. The pain receptors delayed its delivery as the chilled rain numbed her body, Byleth reeling her unaffected dominant arm back. Those Who Slither in the Dark raised their weaponries and prepped their magical spells once Byleth and the two warriors ran in their direction.

Sothis face contorts to pure horror when their assaults were exchanged. “Child… You should’ve listened to me before we did this.” Then, she squeezed her eyes and glanced away.


End file.
